Love and Pie and Other Oddities
by AshMish111
Summary: "They" say running from your problems never solved anything. "They" said a lot of things Kagome had found to be false. She had left to find a fresh start. That fresh start decided to mow her over in a grocery store. Fate certainly had an interesting sense of humor. Rated T for possible language.
1. Chapter 1

A.N.: I'M BACK! I had a baby and then life got really crazy and before I knew it it had almost been a year since I had last posted anything! OOPS. While I've managed to write a few things these past months I haven't felt comfortable posting anything yet since my schedule is still all over the place but I just can't wait any longer, I have so many things to share! I've got big things in the works, and I'm itching to write them all down. This fluffy thing is my toe back in the water, so to speak. I've read all of ONE other fic with this pairing and it's the fic that made me fall in love with it. I read it YEARS ago and that one small one shot has stayed with me all this time until it was time to write my own. I don't have the author's name right now but I will look it up and post it in the next chapter. All thanks to them for the inspiration.  
NOW, I can offer no promises about an update schedule. Things might be hit or miss for a while yet. But I just couldn't wait to share.  
I don't even know how many people will be interested in this, it's mostly a personal project :)

Anywho, here we go!

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters or locations mentioned in either Pushing Daisies or InuYasha: A ****Feudal****Fairy tail****. **

Ned spent a lot of time dodging looks in grocery stores.

There were two big chain stores, and one locally owned grocer in the town he called home, and he had a "special arrangement" with all three to buy up the rotten fruit for pennies to use in the pies made at his beloved bakery.

Of course, the managers at these establishments didn't know _that_ was why he bought them. They didn't ask questions, just pocketed all the money for themselves and loaded his cart. The store wasn't technically supposed to sell this stuff anyway so he tried to be discreet.

That didn't change the fact that sometimes he caught the unwelcome attention of another store patron looking askance at his basket full of moldy peaches and strawberries, to which he'd duck his head and dart to another aisle for whatever else he needed before he could go home.

He was having just such a moment when disaster struck.

He felt the front end of his shopping cart collide with..._something_. A shrill squeak and the shuffle of feet followed. He looked up slowly, eyes wide and horrified, to assess what damage he'd just caused.

And that's when he was struck speechless, his intended string of "I'm so sorry!" Dying as quickly as he'd meant to shout it.

For now, glaring at him with all the fires of hell flickering back and burning his very soul to ash, was the most beautiful pair of blue eyes he'd ever encountered.

And they were in the prettiest face he'd ever seen.

What luck.

"Excuse me? Aren't you going to_ say_ anything?!"

He shook his head vigorously and snapped his mouth shut, blinking several times and trying desperately to order his thoughts. But then he looked at her again and all his intentions to make amends when straight back out the window.

Her fists were balled up on her hips, her foot was tapping an irritated little rhythm on the floor tiles, and her face was still glaring up at him expectantly.

Great heavens she was cute.

And he was going to die, wasn't he?

"_WELL?!_"

"S-sorry! I... I wasn't looking where I was going."

"Obviously! Your lucky you weren't going faster, I could have-"

As her speech cut off, he noticed her attention had turned to his basket.

The one full of rotten fruit.

Her head was tilted cutely to the side like a confused puppy, and all the ire had burnt out of her eyes, leaving them sparkling and light.

His breath was stolen again.

"Why are buying all of this old fruit?"

Darn. Now he had to lie to her. And he'd been making such a great first impression.

"Uh. I compost."

"Uh huh." Her wry expression told him just how much she believed that. He winced and scratched at the back of his head.

"Well. Open your eyeballs when you enter a new aisle. You don't want to mow down any sweet grannies next time."

She brushed passed him and he didn't have the strength to watch her go.

He wanted to sink straight into the floor.

Instead, he went to his bakery and made more pies than anyone knew what to do with.

Olive attempted to find out what was wrong with him, but when he just kept muttering about rotten produce ruining his life she accepted defeat and boxed up several pies to take home with her.

Ned decided he'd keep baking until pies buried him alive.

A.N.: TEE HEE. Silly, I know, but this is just meant to be fun


	2. Chapter 2

"Please remove item from the bagging area."

Kagome grumbled and picked up her most recently scanned item, letting the bag dangle from her finger so the system could readjust.

"Please return item to the bagging area."

"Grrrrr."

She placed it back carefully then stepped back to glare at the screen, hoping it was finally calibrated and she could get on with scanning her items.

"Please remove item from the bagging area."

"You've got to be kidding me."

She snatched the bag off again, her toe beginning to tap in her agitation.

"Please return item to the bagging area."

Kagome pinched the bridge of her nose and exhaled, her teeth clenched and her tapping toe picking up speed.

She gingerly replaced her bag, knowing it was futile but hoping things would just straighten themselves out.

She knew she should be thankful for any sort of automation she could find in America, but coming from Tokyo where such things were commonplace and well established just made the finicky machines found here frustrating to deal with.

Good luck finding a real person to check you out though.

"Please remove item from the bagging area."

"Oh mother_fuck!__"_

She heard a snort and a chuckle behind her and turned, spine stiff and cheeks aflame, to see that same man who had nearly steamrolled her in this very store just last week.

His eyes sparkled at her in amusement and that was exactly the wrong reaction to have.

She stomped her foot indignantly and crossed her arms with a huff. His bright smile only widened, making his eyes crinkle and his face glow. She might have admired how charming he looked on any other day. But not _this_ day. Instead, she looked askance at his basket once again filled with dead fruit and chose to be a brat.

"What are you laughing at? Don't you have 'composting' to do?!"

His smile dropped and his eyes went wide and Kagome marveled that someone could shift between emotions as quickly as she could.

"Uh... yep! Actually I do. In fact I should probably go do that right now so my Uh... garden doesn't die because that would be very unfortunate. So... bye."

He hunched his shoulders up and walked quickly and awkwardly out of the store. She had the decency to feel a little guilty, but moving here so far from home to such a _small_ town compared to where she came from had been more difficult and exhausting than she'd anticipated. She probably shouldn't be so quick to so thoroughly destroy opportunities to make friends.

She resolved that if she ever ran into him again, and she had a feeling she might, she would make sure vengeful Kagome was nowhere to be found.


	3. Chapter 3

She'd been right.

She _did_ run into him again.

_'We must have the same shopping schedule' _she mused to herself.

Exactly a week later, she found him staring in dismay at two bright pink shampoo bottles in the bathing aisle. He kept looking from one to another, his brow furrowed in confusion and his mouth pressed into a thin, agitated line.

Kagome smirked and approached quietly.

She'd vowed to be nice, but that didn't mean she couldn't have some fun.

He was still sweating over the nearly identical bottles when she made it close enough to him that she could lean up and speak low in his ear.

"Need some help?"

She leapt backwards, which was the right move, as the guy who always seemed to be at the store with her jolted in surprise, dropping both bottles and reeling backwards several steps.

He was _tall_, so she would no doubt have been completely trampled had she still been in his path.

She could not contain her peels of delighted laughter as he looked around to find the source of his scare, stopping short when he saw her standing just to his left.

His mouth opened and closed a few times like a fish and he scratched the back of his neck as his heart slowed back down, a small smile working its way onto his face.

"I guess I deserved that."

Kagome finally calmed her laughter and reached down to pick up on of the discarded bottles.

"No, I'm sorry. I just couldn't resist."

She handed it over and he took with a grin.

"Did you need some help? You don't really look like a 'rose hips and mango' kind of guy."

He blushed bent to pick of the other bottle.

"Yeah, I'm not. My neighbor is sick and asked me to pick up her shampoo, but she didn't tell me there were 800 different varieties of the same scent."

Kagome peeked over his arm and read the labels.

"Well, does she have dry, brittle hair? Does she dye it? Is it curly? Prone to oil build up?"

He stared blankly at her, and she could practically see the gears in his mind slowing to a stop.

"Uh... I have no idea. It's blonde but... I don't know if it grows that way."

She took a moment to scan the shelf in front of them before pulling a third bottle off.

"Here, take this one. It's pretty universal. If it's the wrong one tell her to be more specific next time."

He gave her another of his charming smiles that made his eyes glitter, and she was in exactly the right mood to admire it this time.

"Thank you. I probably would have been here all day trying to figure that out."

She winked and he blushed again.

"No problem."

She walked off to finish her shopping and didn't realize until she got home later that she hadn't asked his name.


	4. Chapter 4

Ned didn't usually consider himself a "lucky" person. There'd been a lot of misfortune checkering his past, and the few times he'd thought luck was on his side, things hadn't turned out quite like he'd hoped.

Even his special "gift" tended to come with more trouble than he sometimes felt it was worth.

But standing at the end of the baking aisle on a grocery run for emergency flour for the Pie Hole, Ned felt that maybe luck didn't hate him quite so much as he feared.

For in the center of the aisle, balanced on tip toes and stretched as far as she could stretch, was the enchanting woman he'd been fairly literally running into these last three weeks. She was trying with all her might to reach a large can on the highest shelf, but she was just too short to make it.

Remembering how she'd greeted him at their last encounter, with bright, teasing smiles instead of eyes filled with Hell Fire, Ned had an idea.

He crept up quietly and stretched up behind her, grabbing the can her finger tips were just grazing. He felt her stiffen and her grumbling stopped as she turned abruptly, cheeks ablaze and eyes wide.

He handed the can over with a grin, which she snatched away quickly, looking up at him with a speculative look that confused him before she smiled in return.

"Uh... thanks! I really appreciate it... oh gods, I don't know your name!"

Her face bloomed that charming rose color again and he awed at the way his heart fluttered at the sight of it. He didn't think there was anyone who'd have that affect on him again.

"I'm Ned."

"Hi Ned, I'm Kagome. It's nice to finally meet you."

_Ka-go-me._

He loved the sound of it.

"That's lovely."

She smiled sweetly and sincerely.

"Thank you. I got teased for it as a kid, though. There's a children's song about it. Kindergarten could be rough sometimes."

"Really? I don't remember any children's songs about anyone named Kagome."

She giggled and the sound of it made everything in his head rush until all that was left was that bright, tinkling sound. He was in trouble.

"Well you wouldn't remember it. Unless you grew up in Japan?"

That little teasing twinkle was back and he floundered for a minute.

"No, I can't say I did." He noticed the can in her hand finally.

"Pie filling? You're buying _canned_ pie filling?"

His horror was apparent and she glanced down at the large can, confused and unsure.

"Is this... not a good brand?"

"oh no no no, of course not! None of them are! They're dull and flavorless and full of artificial vanilla to make up for it and they never use in season fruit so they add way too much sugar-"

She laughed at him again and all his words dried up.

"Ok ok, I see you know a lot about pie filling. It's just, my neighbor invited me to a dinner party and asked me to bring a pie. I didn't grow up eating them so I didn't know where to start. I tried researching it, but just buying this and a pie crust seemed easiest."

"You were going to use a _pre-made_ pie crust?"

She shook her head slowly, looking unsure again. He decided he hated making her feel that way.

"Never mind. When is this dinner party?"

"Two days from now"

"Perfect"

He pulled his list and pen out of his pocket, tearing a corner off and writing down a very important address.

"Come to this address tomorrow. I'll make sure you have a great pie to take to your neighbor."

She studied him closely for a moment, her eyes seeming to go out of focus before she met his eyes again. She took the paper and gave him a challenging smile.

"Alright Ned. I'll see you tomorrow then?"

Hope and elation raced through him.

"Any time before 9. At night of course. Not 9 in the morning, that would be very early for most people for pie."

She gave him one last enigmatic look that slowly melted into the sweetest smile her ever been on the receiving end of.

"I'll be there."

She handed him back the canned pie filling.

"Put this back for me, would ya?"

His hand accidentally brushed hers when he grabbed it from her, and a shocking bolt of panic shot through him.

But when she didn't collapse lifeless into the floor in front of him he sighed in relief and felt the panic shift into warmth.

All these feelings she was making him feel used to be attached to strict orders to not touch under any circumstances.

This was... new.

She walked up the aisle and turned leaving him alone again, a hundred thoughts and questions swirling in his mind.


	5. Chapter 5

Kagome's hands fluttered over her clothing as her heart fluttered in her chest. She smoothed the barest of wrinkles and removed every microscopic piece of lint, looking for anything to occupy her hands and thoughts.

This morning she was going to meet Ned at this mystery place where he was somehow going to ensure she got an acceptable pie. She wasn't sure how she felt about it. She was nervous, to be sure. Excited, maybe. A little silly to be fussing so much. She barely knew the guy. But she couldn't deny she was intrigued. When he'd been so close helping her with the can she couldn't reach, she'd felt the tiniest, faintest wisp of Magic brush against her aura. She wondered if it was coming from him, or something he was wearing. She wondered if he even knew about it.

Only one way to find out.

She thought about the sincerity in his aura. He was genuinely very sweet, and had meant her absolutely no harm. That was the only reason she'd agreed to meet this near stranger at an unknown location.

Well, that and he _was_ really cute.

Her thoughts were cut abruptly short by the sound of her phone ringing.

She grabbed it, and the sight of the contact picture lighting up her screen immediately filled her with dread and agitation.

She answered with a sigh.

"What do you want? You've been calling me non stop."

"_WENCH WHERE ARE YOU_?!"

She sighed again and rubbed her hand down her face. Maybe she should have put this off some more.

"I'm somewhere I can find a little peace. You're ruining it."

"And where is that?! Sesshoumaru is pissed. And your mom won't tell us anything!"

"That's because I asked her not too, and _she_ actually cares about what I have to say! And Sesshoumaru will he fine. I gave him my notice. It's not my fault if he ignored it."

He groaned, and she could tell he was probably wearing his carpet thin with his pacing. But she didn't care, not anymore.

"At least call Sesshoumaru and tell him where you are and why. He won't get off my ass!"

"I told him why in my notice letter. And where I am is not important. Goodbye Inuyasha."

She ended the call before he could start protesting again, and a determination filled her as she took one last glance in her mirror. Determination to go out and find that adventure she'd come here for. That peaceful, simple adventure she longed for. Her life had collected complications like dust bunnies under a desk, but with some darts, a few world maps and a little prayer to the fates, she managed to find some hope and the courage to leave it all behind.

The trappings of her past were simply no longer comfortable, they were claustrophobic.

So, she straightened her top, collected her purse, and marched out of her apartment door, intent on seeing what this meeting would hold.

—–—-—

It became painfully clear how Ned intended to secure a decent pie for her.

The Pie Hole, a giant pie shaped bakery loomed over her and left her awed. She entered and took in the decor. It was warm and cozy and cute and she loved every inch of it.

"Welcome to the Pie Hole."

She looked towards the counter where the greeting came from and stopped short at the sight of Ned grinning at her, arms crossed and an apron around his waist.

She couldn't stop the wide, excited smile that spread across her face.

"You work here?"

"I own here."

"You _own_ this place? It's amazing!"

She was quickly ushered to a booth by a sunny window and presented with four different slices of freshly made pie.

"Oh my _gods_! This is amazing! You made these?"

"Fresh everyday."

He was positively preening under her praise and elation, but she felt he legitimately deserved it.

"So _this_ is what I've been missing out on my whole life."

His expression could only be described as indulgent as he watched her, but she barely noticed for all the pie she has to enjoy.

"How have you never had pie before?"

"Growing up in Tokyo, there are lots of places to get sweets from. I usually stuck with cake or more traditional desserts like mochi. My mother isn't very into baking, either."

"Mochi? What's mochi?

It was her turn to light up.

"You've never had mochi? Well it looks like I'll have to return the favor and make _you_ some treats!"

She noticed something spark in the back of his eyes. Something like hope, and something like excitement.

"I'd love that."

She thought his boyish smile was the best thing she'd seen all week. Maybe even all month.

He stood up and quickly disappeared into the kitchen behind the counter before returning with wooden box tied up with twine.

"Here you are. Classic Apple. Your neighbor shouldn't be disappointed."

She took the box with a grin, happiness bubbling through her in a way she hadn't felt in some time. She embraced it.

"Thank you Ned. I've got to go, but I'll be back with treats of my own. And for more pie."

She winked and he blushed and she decided coming here was a good idea, indeed.


	6. Chapter 6

She didn't come back the next day. Or the day after that.

Or the day after that.

Not that Ned was keeping track, of course. That would be silly, he barely knew her.

But he was running out of reasons to give Olive for why he was watching the door.

"You're doing it again. Just tell me what's going on!"

Ned looked down at the tiny blonde woman, his face twisting as he tried mightily to think of any reason at all besides the ridiculous truth.

"I'm... waiting on..."

"If you say a delivery for the bakery, I'm making a complaint. Delivery days are always Tuesdays, and you've been waiting on this mystery package for days! What are you _really_ looking for?"

She was backing him into a corner, her index finger poking his chest and punctuating each word.

"I... Uh..."

Jut then the door to the pie shop opened, making the bell chime. It's merry sound sliced through the awkward tension and Ned snapped his attention toward it, and the blessed sight that greeted him brought a huge smile to his face.

"I'm back! I had a heck of a time finding all the ingredients I needed and had to go to the next town over, sorry about that. But look! I brought treats!"

"A girl, Ned? You could have just said so!"

Olive swung around, her bright, signature smile on her face as she nearly floated over to greet the newcomer SHE had never seen before, but had apparently entranced Ned at some point.

"Hello! Welcome to the Pie Hole! I'm Olive!"

"Hello Olive, I'm Kagome."

"It's so nice to finally figure out exactly what Ned's been watching the door so diligently for the last few days. I was starting to think he was waiting on the cops to drag him away."

"Olive, don't you have pies to make?"

"Oh fine, Ned. I can take a hint. Bye Kagome!"

Ned approached with his hands awkwardly in his pockets, trying not to grin like a fool that she'd actually come back.

"Don't listen to anything she says, she's..."

She giggled and waved him off.

"Nice. She's very nice. She works here?"

"Yes. Actually, she's the neighbor you helped me with that day."

"Was she satisfied with the shampoo we chose?"

Her use of the word "we," as if they were some sort of pair, or a team, made his heart do funny things. He stuck his hands in his apron pockets self consciously and shrugged."

"She didn't seem _dis_satisfied. Olive will usually tell you when you've done something wrong. At least, she tells me anyway."

Kagome chuckled at him and lifted a shiny wooden box painted with scattered pink blossoms.

"Well never mind that, let's eat! I hope you haven't had lunch yet."

He sat with her at a table in a corner and watched with interest as she opened the box and began to seemingly take it apart. It had several compartments that stacked up one on top of the other, and each one was filled with all sorts of things. She laid them out across the table and then offered him a pair of chopsticks.

"Can you use these?"

"Afraid not."

"It's a good thing I brought backup, then! Though I guess you probably have a lot of silverware here."

He chuckled at her, and he listened raptly to every word she said as she described in detail every last morsel he tasted, from ingredients to cooking methods. Truthfully she could be telling him how toilet paper was made for all he cared, the melodic tune of her voice swirled around and around in his head and carried him away.

He ate far more than any person should ever eat, but he could not bring himself to turn anything away that she offered him. He was delighting in this more than he should have. He should fear he was setting himself up for disappointment. She laughed and it was beautiful and he couldn't bring himself to care about anything else but that sound.

She was chattering on about different types of dumpling filling when an idea struck him.

An enticing idea, one that may get her to stick around for a while.

"Would you like to learn how to make a pie?"

"And then there's- wait what?"

"I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt. I just had an idea."

"You would teach me to make pie?"

"Of course. I'll teach you to make any pie you want. Or every pie. Maybe not every pie, there's a lot of pies... but many pies. I would teach you how to make many pies. Or just one..."

She was laughing again, cheeks pink and eyes squeezed close. A picture he would never forget.

"You're cute, Ned. I'd love to learn how to make pie. And from a master pie maker! Of course I can't say no!"

Cute. She thought he was cute! And his plan has worked.

"Will you come back tomorrow, then?"

"Tomorrow it is."

"But first, let me feed you now. You didn't eat any of this and I..." he looked down at what she had called a 'bento.' All the pieces spread across the table were nearly completely empty. "I guess I ate it all."

"Oh oh! I'd love a slice of pie I didn't try last time!"

He tried not to keep his heart from his eyes when he smiled at her; too bad he'd never been very good at hiding his feelings.

"Coming right up."


	7. Chapter 7

**A.N.: Sorry about the longer than usual wait on this, my plot bunnies have been dedicating all of their time to a whole separate, third story I'm working on but won't be posting for a while. It's a big crossover project that I am SO in love with and excited about. If you're a fan of the MCU, Kagome _in_ the MCU, slow burn, angst, warm fuzzies, and long chapter fics, then BOY do I have the fic for you! stay tuned for that. Also, if you happen to be following my other open fic, A String of Souls, my InuKag Soulmate AU, then never fear, I'm actively writing that next chapter as we speak! It will be up in a few days.**

Flour smudged across her cheek and dotted the tip of her nose. It was even sprinkled in her hair.

Ned thought he'd never seen someone make such a mess look so _cute._

He was almost shocked by how quickly he'd become completely besotted with her.

Almost.

The very tip of her tongue poked out as she concentrated on making the perfect lattice crust on the apple pie he was teaching her to make. He hadn't planned on starting any sort of decorative work for the top crust, but she'd seen a photo and then she'd blinked up at him and there they were, working on lattice crusts for her first pie.

"I think I've got it this time..."

He grinned unabashedly. She was working on her_ third_ attempt already, a heap of jumbled dough strips all squashed together sat in the corner of the work table where she'd smashed them after her first two attempts ended in a shapeless tangle.

"_THERE!_" She stepped back, beaming at her work. Ned did his best to inspect it with as professional an air as possible.

"It's definitely your best one yet."

"But is it _good_?"

"Decorative crusts can be tricky."

She pouted and he grinned again. He wondered if he'd ever be able to be around her without sore cheeks.

"It's very good. You did great."

"You're just saying that."

"No no, I'm not. Let's go ahead and bake it. You'll see."

They both reached for the oven mitt at the same time, his hand covering hers for just a moment before he jerked it back like she'd burned him. He'd been so very careful not to touch her through his whole lesson, still not used to being able to safely touch the person making his heart do somersaults. She didn't die before his eyes, but she did look very concerned.

"I'm so sorry Ned, I wasn't paying attention. If you don't like being touched, I'll be sure to be more careful next time."

"No... no it's not that. I mean kind of, I don't really like being touched. I don't mind if _you_ touch me. I just... my last girlfriend was... _allergic_ to me. I couldn't touch her without pretty drastic consequences."

"She was... _allerfic _to you?!"

She didn't look like she bought it in the least, but it was much more believable than the truth, and the last thing he wanted to do was scare her away.

"Yes. She was allergic."

"Um. Okay. Well, _I'm_ not allergic to you, see?"

She reached out again and softly took his hand, then used her other to reach up and rest gently on his cheek. She smiled serenely and he stopped breathing completely.

"No harm done."

He placed his own hand over hers, daring himself to make any sort of move in a more definitive direction. He gulped awkwardly and hoped she couldn't tell how unsure he was.

"I see that."

Her smile grew brighter and she stepped back, turning back to the table and slipping on the oven mitts. She picked up her pie and placed it in the oven.

"So, your _last_ girlfriend was allergic to you and you couldn't touch her... and now you're afraid to touch _me_. Does that mean I'm your _new_ girlfriend?"

Her smirk was all mischief, no hint of anger or disgust, but he was all horror at the slip he'd accidentally made.

"That's not what I meant. Oh god, that is _not_ what I meant. I'm so sorry, please don't think-"

Her laughter cut him off.

"Relax Ned, I'm only teasing you."

His relief was instant and left him nearly shaking. This woman would be the end of him.

"I really didn't mean... look, I like you. A lot. You make me nervous and I ramble when I'm nervous. I'm also not used to feeling like this and it not meaning disaster when touching is involved."

It was her turn to look shocked, and a sweet blush colored her flour smudged cheek. He reached up to wipe it clean.

"You do?"

"Yes. I haven't stopped thinking about you since I ran over you in that grocery store."

She giggled, he'd never stop loving that sound.

She grabbed his hand again and held it firmly.

"Then take me to dinner?"

Her eyes shined with nothing but hope and happiness. Ned felt a lead weight slip off his shoulders.

"It's a date."

**A.N.: Sorry for any confusion this update is going to cause, but I got the OK from the author that inspired this fic to post their name and story title so you can all give it a read if you like! Blackfox-vixen wrote a series of one shots published as a story called "Pace Her Heart" that features Kagome with various characters played by Lee Pace! If you love Lee Pace as much as I do, which I don't recommend because I love him a lot and it's unhealthy, then absolutely check it out. The first chapter is the one with Ned and Kagome and it is one of the CUTEST things I've ever read. ALRIGHT, go read it. **


	8. Chapter 8

Kagome fidgeted nervously and giggled a little _too_ loud, she was sure, but she couldn't help it. Sitting across from her in their cozy booth in a nice-ish restaurant, Ned looked so adorably handsome in his tie and with his blushes and he was being _so_ polite and _SHE WAS ON A REAL DATE. _

She felt a little silly. She was way too grown to be acting like such a school girl but it had been a long time since she'd felt like this about someone new. And maybe that's what it was. It was _new_.

A warm hand covered hers and she looked up into Ned's sweet, concerned eyes.

"Are you alright? You've zoned out a couple of times."

"Oh! I'm so sorry. I'm just nervous. I've... never actually been on a real date before."

He looked shocked and it made her blush a dark, embarrassed red.

"And now I sound like a loser."

Ned chuckled, but he gave her a reassuring smile.

"No you don't, not at all. I'm just surprised. I know I can't be the first person to notice how amazing you are."

She blushed again and she grinned a big goofy grin, knowing she looked ridiculous but unable to care.

"I don't know about that. I was just hung up on a guy for a really long time. He didn't want me, but I don't think he wanted me to be with anyone else, either. I don't know. Anyway, I don't want to talk about _that_. I want to know all about the Pie Hole!"

Talking with Ned was easier than she expected, but then the males she usually spent her time with acted like talking was worse than a sword through the guts.

Time seemed to fly as they learned about each other, and Kagome liked what she found more and more.

They'd each lost a parent at similar ages.

Ned had a dog he was allergic to and couldn't touch, just like his ex-girlfriend. A partial truth, but she wouldn't look into it too much.

His dog was the same age as Buyo, her childhood cat.

He was sweet. He was kind. He was awkward and goofy and funny. He was _tall._

She didn't know it was possible for her to be so smitten with someone who _didn't_ have fangs, claws and dog ears, but she was so glad to find she'd been wrong.

He walked her up to her apartment door to make sure she was safe. She wondered if she was supposed to "invite him in" and the thought thrilled and terrified her. His eyes softened and he leaned down and brushed the softest, sweetest kiss on her cheek.

"Goodnight Kagome. Thank you for tonight."

Her heart had stopped and she sighed, bringing her hand up to cover the spot he'd left his kiss.

"Goodnight Ned. I'll come see you tomorrow?"

His face lit up; did he know how cute he was?

"I'd love that! I'll see you tomorrow then."

One last smile and he turned and left. She slipped her key in the lock, opened her door, turned on her light.

Head in the clouds and hearts in her eyes, Kagome's head buzzed with excitement and infatuation. All her senses turned inward as she floated in through her door, turned, closed it and locked it.

She nearly fell over in shock and fear as a gruff voice washed over her.

"And just who the hell was that?"

She stiffened. Dread sank through her stomach like an anvil. Her fists clenched at her side.

"Inuyasha. What are you doing here?"


	9. Chapter 9

**A.N.:Text in -_italics- _is spoken in Japanese.**

With the chiming of the bell over his pie shop door, Ned's heart picked up speed and left him a little breathless. This had already happened four times today so he took a moment to close his eyes and take a breath before looking up to see who was entering.

He immediately broke into a grin at the sight of her, Kagome, walking through the door towards his counter the day after their date, just as she said she would.

His happiness didn't last long. Confusion quickly replaced it when he took in the scowling guy with the oddest hair color he'd ever seen coming in with her. They were caught in an intense conversation in what he assumed must be Japanese since it _certainly_ wasn't English. His brow raised and his eyes widened and he looked between them, wondering who this guy was and what he'd done to make Kagome so _angry._ He floundered, completely lost as they bickered back and forth in a language completely foreign to him. It had been a while since he'd wished Chuck was still around, but he remembered she'd been fluent in this very language. He didn't relish his desire to eavesdrop, but he wouldn't deny it was there, either.

_"How did you even find out where I was?"_

_"Found some mail you sent your mom."_

_"You STOLE a postcard I sent my mother?! That's ILLEGAL!"_

_"FEH! If you'd just told us where you were-"_

_"Why, so you could come annoy the shit out of me and try to force me back? I TOLD you, I'm not coming with you. I'm staying here."_

_"Don't be stupid, wench! That's your home and you're commin' back, and that's final."_

_"Just who do you think you are Inuyasha?! You don't get to tell me what I am and am not doing! That's for ME to decide! YOU go home and leave me alone!"_

_"I ain't leaving here without you, Kagome. If I have to drag you back by your hair!"_

_"Go ahead and try it, dog boy, see if I don't purify your ears right off your head."_

Ned cleared his throat, drawing both of their attention. He met Kagome's eyes, deep blue and swirling with wild emotion, with all his sincerity.

"Is everything alright?"

She sagged a bit, smiling up at him and then pinching the bridge of her nose.

"Yes, just... just... give me a very large slice of apple pie, please. And black coffee. You wouldn't happen to have any alcohol back there, would you?"

He chuckled and affection crinkled his eyes, making her cheeks pink.

"I'll see what I can find."

She covered one of his hands with both of hers, relief shining from her face and softening the harsh lines of agitation that had been there moments before. He mentally patted himself on the back for a job well done.

"You're an angel, Ned! I'm so sorry about this. This is so rude of us."

He shrugged and said "It's alright. This isn't the weirdest thing that's happened in this pie shop."

He could feel the eyes of this other man on his back but he ignored it, intent on helping relieve whatever he could of Kagome's stress. They were talking again, and he cursed himself for not ever trying to take up any other languages.

_"You have GOT to be kidding me Wench. THAT guy?"_

_"Don't be rude Inuyasha. He's sweet."_

_"SWEET? What a friggin weakling! What on earth could he possibly do to-"_

_"It's not all about slinging swords and punching out bad guys, jerk! He's sweet and funny and he makes me... happy. I haven't known him that long Okay, but I like him. Do not ruin this for me. I'll I've ever done is devote all of my time to you and then your brother and the company you both run. But now I want to live for myself. So please Inuyasha, leave and go back and leave me here. It's where i WANT to be."_

She could tell by the stubborn look in his eye that nothing she said was sticking in any part of his brain in any meaningful way. She sighed in defeat.

_"Alright wench, I'll go along with this silly little act. For now. But I'm not leaving, not until you snap out of it and come back, too."_

He turned to leave and she huffed, so thoroughly annoyed she couldn't see straight.

_"Get a hotel! You are NOT staying at my apartment!"_

The door chimed closed and Kagome turned and slumped on the counter.

Ned set the plate of pie and cup of coffee down gently. She glanced up at him and the soft look on his face began chasing away the tension.

"Thank you. I'm so, so sorry. He... I..." she closed her eyes and took a deep, steadying breath and then let it out in a sad sigh.

"Are you very busy? Can we go sit? I think we should talk."

Ned tried not to feel apprehensive. She couldn't _possibly_ want to end things already when they'd been going so well. But she seemed tired and he would do nothing to add to whatever it was burdening her.

"Sure. Let's go to the back corner. Olive can man the counter for a while."

She smiled and it was breathtaking and full of relief.

"Thank you, Ned."

_A.N.:There won't be too much drama in this, mostly just fluff. Thank you all for the sweet reviews! This is really a personal project since I know this show was very brief and was canceled several years ago, so any interest anyone shows in this is a huge bonus for me. I'm just happy **someone** is enjoying it!_


	10. Chapter 10

With her hands clasped tightly on the table in front of her, Kagome twiddled her thumbs and waited anxiously for Ned to meet her at the back corner table of his pie shop.

The 'clink' of a warm, steaming mug of coffee startled her, and she looked up into Ned's gently smiling eyes.

She sagged in relief and grabbed up the mug, disregarded the heat, and took a huge gulp. It burned all the way down in more ways than one. Her eyes screwed shut as she coughed and sputtered and Ned sat across from her with a chuckle.

"Ugh...What's in this?"

"Tequila."

"Tequila? You keep Tequila in a pie shop?"

"I had someone come in once asking about a margarita pie and I got curious. Turns out they were actually asking about margherita _pizza_, not cocktail flavored dessert... but I wanted to try it anyway. Didn't work."

"Whatever, this is perfect." She took another big gulp and sighed. "I feel better already."

She groaned, dropping her head onto the table with a loud _thunk_ that made Ned wince.

"Gods. I can't _believe_ he found me. I was _so_ careful."

Ned eyed her with growing concern. He didn't understand a single word that had passed between her and that guy she'd come in with, and though he'd seemed like he had _wanted_ to come across as intimidating, he hadn't actually seemed overtly dangerous. But then you couldn't really judge very accurately by appearances.

"You're not in any danger are you?"

She raised her head to give him a reassuring smile.

"Just in danger of going insane. I don't think there's anyone on this planet more stubborn than Inuyasha."

She closed her eyes and massaged her temples, releasing a deep sigh.

"Alright. I'm going to be uncomfortably honest with you, but it's because I like you...a lot... okay? "

Ned felt his cheeks warm, an indulgent smile spreading across his face and hearts in his eyes. He reached over and covered her hand with his.

"I like you too."

Kagome couldn't stop the huge grin and blush that bloomed across her cheeks, but she quickly grew serious again and cleared her throat.

She felt Ned squeeze her hand in reassurance and her heart fluttered.

"Inuyasha and I... we were... no, I mean..."

She closed her eyes again, taking a moment and reorganizing her thoughts.

"I was in love with him for a very, very long time."

Ned lifted one eyebrow in disbelief and she felt her tension melt away with a relieved giggle.

"I know, I know. But I was 15 when I met him and he was... well not very different, I guess. I was just young and we went through a lot. We were... separated for several years and reunited when I graduated college. He showed up to my graduation with all this new confidence and a job offer and I'd missed him so much that I took it without a thought. We'd never actually been together but I'd always hoped... anyway, I started working for him and his older brother and it didn't take long for me to realize that he was not the same guy I'd had such a crush on before. When we were younger he'd been gruff but shy and sweet. Now he was confident and sure of himself. He was this shameless womanizer and I... foolishly felt hopeful, still. I stuck around way too long waiting for him to finally notice me. And then he did, or else, I thought he did. We'd both had too much to drink at a work function and I got very confident and finally just kissed him. He seemed surprised, but he kissed me back and we... you know..."

He chuckled at her obvious discomfort and she found a measure of courage in it.

"Anyway, the next day he acted like nothing happened. Everything went right back to normal. At the next work function, I'm sitting there watching him flirt and hang all over some socialite and realized I was still waiting on him to see me. A few months later I decided I was done acting young and dumb and decided to move on. So I bought a few maps and a set of darts and that led me here, where you ran over me in the grocery store."

She finally met his eyes again and he looked awed, amused and sympathetic in equal measure.

"You left such a big decision up to chance with a game of darts?"

"No, I left it up to _fate_, thank you very much. The hand of fate used the darts to lead me here."

"Lucky for me."

He was so open with his feelings that Kagome almost didn't know how to respond. Inuyasha and his brother were the two males she was most familiar with and they both tried their damndest to pretend they'd never felt a single, vulnerable thing in their entire lives. It was refreshing, and a little frightening.

She smiled shyly and looked down at the table, catching sight of her hand wrapped in his.

"A-anyway. I didn't tell him or his brother that I was leaving. I sent in my resignation letter and disappeared. I knew they'd never let me leave without a fight. Neither of them trusts many people so they aren't to keen on losing someone they _do_ trust. But I needed to go. I needed to be _me_ without _them_. I guess they found me. So much for that."

Ned felt a bit apprehensive at this latest turn of her tale.

"Will you go back?"

"Hell no! I love it here! Tokyo is so big and fast. I love how small and peaceful it is here."

Ned cringed a bit at the "peaceful" part. Truth was, a lot of weirdness went on in this town. A lot of _murder_ for one thing. Things had been unusually quiet since just before he'd met her. But he'd never been to Tokyo, maybe it was possible anything was quiet compared to there.

"_Very_ lucky me, then."

He wanted to apologize again for running her over in that store, but he decided maybe he wasn't sorry. Maybe it was the best thing he'd ever done.

He took in the sweet, bashful look on her pretty face and decided that, yes. It was the best thing. He'd help keep her life here as peaceful and happy as possible, no matter what.

**A.N.: YO I have had the WORST writer's block. I think I'm over it though! Thanks for sticking around! Also thanks for all the love this story has gotten. I expected a FRACTION of the faves, follows and reviews it has. This is entirely a pet project and I'm THRILLED that I've got as many readers as I have for it. You all rock! And if you find yourself following along and you haven't yet watched Pushing Daisies then GO WATCH IT. It is seriously the cutest show! **


	11. Chapter 11

**A.N.: YO WHATUP I'M BACK after an inexcusably long time lol sorry. Here's some more pure, unadulterated self-indulgence.**

Kagome sweated over her stove, her brow wrinkled in annoyance as she stirred the soup bubbling in the pot a little too aggressively. Her mother had been very clear about scraping the bottom of the pot while cooking, she knew her new cookware would be scratched all to hell.

_'Better the pot than Inuyasha's stupid face'_

She thought bitterly, while the hanyo in question started up another tirade.

_'He really wants me to reconsider that though. I should launch this spoon at his skull.'_

"I just don't trust him Kagome, he smells funny. And he looks funny. And he's hiding something. And I don't think any of this is a good idea."

"Why am I not surprised?"

"What's _that_ supposed to mean, wench?!"

She sighed and rubbed a hand down her face. He was always like this, always so suspicious of anything she tried to do on her own, never mind that she was a grown adult. She realized he still treated her like the silly 15 year old she'd been when she first fell into the past and saved him from eternal sleep.

"It _means_ that you always have _something_ to say about the choices I make for myself Inuyasha. You're never just happy for me."

"That's because you make stupid choices. You've taken a lease out on an apartment here for Kami sake! What were you thinking?!"

"I was _thinking_ that I liked the view from the bedroom window and that the bathroom had a nice, spacious tub. It's why I picked this apartment over the one down the street."

He scoffed and rolled his eyes.

"That's not what I meant Kagome, and you know it. Why did you get an apartment here at all?"

She looked at him as if he'd grown a second head. Was he _really_ so dense? Did he _never_ listen to her?

"I already told you Inuyasha, I've moved here. For good. _That's_ why I got an apartment. Now stop being such a blockhead and leave, Ned will be here soon and I don't want you here ruining everything with your moodiness."

He crossed his arms and leaned against her kitchen counter.

"I don't know what you see in that guy. He's just a goofy human. And like I said, he's hiding some-"

"I _know_ he's hiding something Inuyasha. Do you think I've just forgotten how to read auras all together? I've known him for a few weeks, but we only started this... _thing_ a very short time ago. You don't tell someone everything about yourself on the first date."

He snorted in disgust.

"Date. _FEH_. What a waste of-"

"How many times have I watched you disappear with some woman at every company party since I first started interning with you and Sesshoumaru? How many times have I had to listen to you go on about some fling while on a business trip during board meetings? How many times have I had to endure you flirting with my assistant during simple paperwork deliveries? And I've never said a word, no matter how much I hated every second of it. Why can't you extend me the same courtesy? I _like_ this guy Inuyasha. He's sweet and funny and... he makes me feel something I haven't felt in a long time. Not since... since..."

Inuyasha's face screwed up as another wave of disgust washed through him.

"Since when? Since that loser Hojo? Or_ KOUGA_?"

Her shoulders slumped in defeat and sadness cooled her scent. He'd pushed too far again.

"Since _you_ baka. Since you."

Her voice was small and tired. His ears snapped back, his eyes wide and he felt vaguely horrified. They never, _ever_ addressed the elephant of their past, of what almost was and most certainly would have been if he hadn't been forced to grow up through the centuries without her. By the time they all caught up, he was a different person and she was still so young. She'd grown into a remarkable woman; smart, capable, witty, beautiful... but he'd never allowed himself to consider opening that door back up. 500 years was too long, he was too different, so he kept his emotional distance. The one lapse in judgement he'd recently had with her before she'd fled the country had haunted him. It was apparently time for it blow back up in his face. She really did deserve so much better than this.

"Kagome I... I'm... I didn't-"

"Just _go_ okay? Please. At least for now."

He eyed her door, he could hear this Ned guy coming up the hallway. He'd have to cross paths with him on his way out.

"Alright, I'll leave. But I'm not done trying to convince you to come back."

She managed a wan smile and he sagged in relief.

"I'd almost be disappointed if I'd managed to shake you that easily."

He flashed a fangy grin that fell the second he turned his back and flung the door open. He stalked grumpily down the hallway with a scowl, hands in his jacket pockets and shoulders hunched.

Ned paused when he caught sight of him, head tilting slightly in confusion.

"Hey, you're-"

Inuyasha cut him off with a harsh snort.

"Save it."

Ned seemed taken aback, but he shrugged it off and knocked on Kagome's door.

Inuyasha paused at the stairs and watched for a moment. Kagome threw the door open, eyes sparkling and radiant joy shining from her face. Ned handed her a small bouquet of flowers and she blushed and gave him a sweet, shy smile. She was excited and dazed and giddy; he realized this was probably the first time someone had paid this kind of attention to her.

Well, someone she actually _wanted_ to pay that kind of attention to her anyway. Kouga and Hojo didn't count. And he'd certainly treated her like this.

Filled with regret, Inuyasha jogged down the stairs and made his way to his hotel.

He would leave her alone tonight, but he still didn't like this arrangement one bit.

She belonged in Tokyo, and he wasn't done trying to make her see that.


	12. Chapter12

'_He's not funny looking, stupid Inuyasha_.'

Kagome thought fondly, watching Ned try to get comfortable on her tiny couch.

She giggled as he adjusted again.

"Sorry my couch is so small. I didn't imagine I'd have such a tall houseguest when I bought it. And I don't have any other seating yet."

She shrugged, a little embarrassed at how bare her little apartment still was, but Ned laughed it off.

"It's alright. I've been this height most of my life, I'm used to it."

"I'm sorry if Inuyasha was rude to you on his way out. I didn't even invite him over and I thought I was going to have to chase him out with the broom."

Ned rubbed the back of his neck and winced.

"Yeah I don't think he likes me very much."

Kagome rolled her eyes and got up to stir her soup again.

"Inuyasha doesn't like _anybody_. Don't take it personally. He's a grump."

"He likes you."

She sighed. Perhaps he did, in his own Inuyasha way. But this was not what she wanted to talk about, not anymore.

"Whatever. Enough about my complicated history with romance. Let's talk about _yours_!"

He grimaced, she marveled at how animated he was with every expression.

"That's... probably a lot more complicated than you'd ever want to hear about. Or even believe."

She laughed and turned to stir the soup again.

"As long as you don't have a reanimated dead ex girlfriend walking around I think we'll be fine."

His aura went so cold so fast it shocked her. She spun to meet his panicked gaze. His mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water before he blinked and snapped his jaw closed.

"That's... that's a very specific type of situation, why would you mention that?"

Nerves radiated off of him and her curiosity soared. Surely not. He couldn't possibly have a reanimated dead ex girlfriend. That was too specific to be possible again.

She snorted and spooned out two bowls of soup.

"No reason, just being ridiculous I guess. Hungry?"

He sagged in relief and brightened right back up. She decided to leave all talk of past romance off the table, she preferred him this way.

They chatted while they ate, leaning against her kitchen counter tops, playing 20 questions and sharing soft looks.

Kagome didn't know what to do with the excitement that had welled up inside her from the moment he'd walked in. It was the same thing she felt every time he was near.

She'd never expected to feel like this around someone again, but she was glad it was Ned.

He had to be the sweetest person she'd ever known.

'_He's hiding something_...'

Inuyashas voice taunted her, but she brushed it aside. He answered every question she asked about him with pure honestly, and he had the most sincere aura she'd ever felt. Whatever he was scared to tell her, it couldn't be _that _bad.

"You have twin younger brothers?"

"Half brothers, technically. I actually didn't know about them for a very long time. They're magicians."

"Twin magicians! Like a pair of kitsune! I'd love to meet them."

"They'd love you."

She blushed at his sweet words, his sweet smile, looking down into her empty soup bowl for a momentary distraction.

"I have a younger brother. He's not a magician though. He's studying to develop video games."

The hour grew late as conversation spun from one topic to the next and their knowledge of each other expanded. Ned glanced at the clock and Kagome's heart raced.

She wasn't sure what she was supposed to do next and she cursed herself for not taking her mother's advice and "getting out there" more. Maybe then she'd know if she should take the leap and invite him to stay.

The gods took pity on her and he gave her a regretful smile.

"I should go, I need to feed my dog."

"Oh! Um, okay. I'll walk you out."

A silly gesture as her apartment was tiny enough that they could see the door from her kitchen, but she was eager to be near him for as long as possible.

As they stood in her doorway, reckless courage took over. She leaned up as far as she could and pulled him the rest of the way down, kissing him firmly right on the mouth. She pulled away and he stared down at her with dazed eyes and a silly grin.

"Wow that... Thanks- I mean-"

He shook his head and she giggled, silently agreeing with Inuyasha on one thing- he was certainly fairly goofy.

"Thank you for coming Ned."

"Will I see you tomorrow?"

"I would never miss out on a chance to have pie! Or see you."

She blushed softly and he grinned widely, tilting her chin up and giving her one last, soft kiss before heading home to his own apartment and his dog.

Kagome sighed a dreamy sigh, not for the first time thanking the fates for sending her here and putting her in the path of his grocery cart those weeks ago.


	13. Chapter13

_A.N. Double update! Let's make up for some lost time lol_

Ned looked around at the mess in the Pie Hole kitchen and wondered for the first time in a while what he'd done to deserve any of this. Apparently things had been going too well.

Not only had Emerson shown up today after months away looking for his daughter, but Chuck of all people had been waiting for him, hiding in the dark kitchen with a dead body before he'd even opened the shop.

His eyes darted from one thing to the next as he tried to make sense of the chaos and his mind tried to snap out of the dreamy haze it had been in since he'd left Kagome's the night before.

He'd start with the simplest thing first and go from there.

"Did you find your daughter?"

Emerson crosses his arms and eyed the cold corpse on the floor.

"No. But I think I'm getting closer. What's with the stiff? And you had better not tell me I came back to watch you two morons dance around each other some more."

Ned shook his head vigorously.

"No. No. None of that this time. Speaking of the dead body laying on my kitchen floor, I would also like to know why it's here. And you. Why are you here? Not that it's not nice to see you but a call next time you get the urge to bring me a dead person might be nice."

Chuck simply smiled, charmed as always by his nervous rambling and happier than she thought she'd would be to see him again.

"Well, Olive invited me back to town for her birthday party. She didn't tell you?"

"Birthday party? Olive's having a birthday party?"

Emerson snorted, in disgust or amusement he couldn't tell.

"Of course Olive's having a birthday party. It's Olive. She told us about it before I left 4 months ago."

Ned scrunched his eyes closed and thought back as far as he could.

A lot had happened in the last few weeks, he'd been a little preoccupied.

But then it all came back to him and panic set in.

"Oh my god. It's tomorrow. I don't have a gift."

Chuck smiled softly again and he didn't even have the available brain waves to properly assess her return.

"That's okay, we can go shopping together if you want."

"No, that's fine. What about this body? Why is it here on my kitchen floor?"

"I found him in the alley and thought you might like to find out what happened to him in here where it's a little less public."

"No, I don't want to find out what happened to him, I want to put him back and call the police."

"Well I could use a pay day, listen to ol zombie girl and zap the man, lets solve this and see if there's a reward out."

Ned glanced at the clock. The morning hours were growing later, and he couldn't have this mess here when a certain someone showed up. He turned to Emerson with a frown.

"No, I do not have time for this, not now. We have to get him out of here. And you know how I feel about the word zombie."

"But we could at least find out who his family is and let them know? They could be worried about him. Or not even know he's missing. Wouldn't you want your family to know? What about your brothers?"

"She's right Ned. Do it for the family. And my pocket book."

They talked over each other in their attempts to convince him to wake the dead man up, ask him about his murder, his last wishes, messages for his family, tried to coax him back into the murder mystery business, into 'settling their souls' or some other nonsense.

He didn't want any of that, didn't want to go down that path right now. He had been pretty sure he and Emerson would pick their little arrangement back up when he got back, but things were more complicated now, and he didn't know if that risk was worth it.

What he did know, was that he wanted this guy gone before he stunk up the bakery, or before anyone else could see him.

"Alright! Okay, I'll wake him up, ask him what happened, and that's it. We call the police and put him back in the alley. Emerson if you want to go after a reward, that's up to you, but count me out. Chuck, please don't bring anymore corpses into the Pie Hole."

They nodded and Ned rolled up his sleeves. He sighed and reached out, fingertip hovering just over the guys cheek.

"Emerson, keep time."

When he was ready, Ned continued reaching forward.

He heard the bell of the door chime.

He made contact with cold flesh and heard twin gasps.

His eyes grew wide as he turned to see Kagome and Inuyasha enter the kitchen right as the corpse sat up and looked around.

Inuyasha glared darkly, But Kagome...

Kagome's eyes lit up and she smiled triumphantly.

"I _knew_ it..." she whispered, and his jaw fell open in horror.

Time slowed. He heard Chuck speaking softly to the reanimated man. His eyes swung between Kagome, Inuyasha, and the dead man on his floor.

"Time." Emerson called, his voice barely breaking through the fog.

Ned touched the man again quickly and he fell limply to the floor, dead once more.

Kagome's smile grew and she clapped her hands together while Inuyasha looked as if he wanted to kill him on the spot.

He might welcome that, honestly.

Things had just gotten so much more complicated.

"Shit."


	14. Chapter14

Tension, confusion and apprehension radiated so thickly in the room Kagome could have cut it with a knife if she wanted.

Inuyasha leaned over and whispered to her in Japanese.

_"I fucking told you something was_-"

"_SHUT IT Inuyasha, I'm already at the end of my patience with you._"

He'd shown up bright and early to try and harass her into moving back again and he'd followed her all the way to the Pie Hole, arguing until he was almost literally blue in the face. It was times like these she wished he still wore those beads, he could use a good 'sit.'

Kagome bounced up to Ned and greeted him with a bright smile and a kiss, leaving him even more stunned, but she managed to break him out of his shock and horror enough that he gave her a dopey smile.

"Morning Ned!"

"Hi, I-"

"Thank the lord, you got yourself a girlfriend you can actually touch this time. A miracle for my sanity. I take it she don't know about the talking to dead people thing yet?"

Kagome looked around Ned and smiled at the two people she'd never met before. She held her hand out to the man, Emerson he said his name was, first, since he'd spoken first.

"Hi, I'm Kagome. And no, I didn't know. I mean I knew he could do something, I sensed it shortly after we met."

Ned frowned in confusion again as Kagome stepped delicately around the corpse still lying on the floor toward the other woman in the room.

"You what now?"

She glanced briefly back toward him, smirking and feeling a bit mischievous.

"I'm a priestess. I can read auras and sense power signatures. You have a very faint magic in your aura." She turned back and held her hand out.

"Hi, Kagome, nice to meet you."

"I'm Chuck, it's nice to meet you too."

Kagome gasped when their hands met, something in the woman's soul chilling her to the bone.

There was no malice, no pain, but the life there was odd, like it had been stuck on with a push pin, easy to remove and not really a true part of the body it inhabited.

It almost felt like... like...

'_Kikyo_..._ she feels like Kikyo felt.._.

She gasped again and turned abruptly back toward Ned.

"Oh my gods... is she... she's..."

She met chucks eyes again, and they were wide with questions. She glanced over at Inuyasha who tapped his nose with a confirming nod.

"Yes wench, she's dead."

A memory from last night came back to her, of her little offhanded joke about dead ex-girlfriends and Ned's brief moment of panic.

She wanted to laugh, it was so so impossibly ridiculous.

"Oh."

"Kagome, let me explain. Chuck is-

"_Oh."_

She couldn't help the laughter that bubbled up inside her, couldn't stifle it.

It was just... _So absurd_.

"Oh my gods. I can't believe this."

"Kagome I was going to tell you, I promise I- why are you laughing?"

She wiped her eyes and grabbed Ned's hand in reassurance, he gripped her fingers back.

"It's just, _wow _I have a very specific type."

"I... don't get it." His look of desperate confusion was so cute she almost kissed him again.

"Feh. I'm outta here. I got phone calls to make."

Inuyasha left in a huff and Kagome rolled her eyes. He was always such a party pooper.

"I'll tell you later, when there isn't a dead man laying on your floor. Why don't you get him out of here and I'll bleach the corpse cells away."

He smiled gratefully, relieved to have a pathway back to at least the illusion of normalcy and grateful that he wasn't about to lose his new girlfriend before she really had a chance to _be _his girlfriend. He and Emerson got to work putting the body back in the alley and calling the police, and Kagome found the mops so she and a still stunned but very sweet Chuck could get the floor back up to code.

She smiled ruefully for a moment. She'd come here for a much simpler, more peaceful life, but apparently fate wouldn't allow her a life completely free of some bizarre thing or other.

'_Oh well. After everything I've already been through I probably need some kind of weirdness," _she thought fondly to herself and made quick work of helping to clean another mess she'd walked into.


	15. Chapter15

_A.N.: hello friends. Sorry for the long wait, I got wrapped up in some other projects that have been clamoring for my attention, but I'm back to post the last chapters of this and finish it off! _

Ned's apartment is much homier than hers, Kagome decides, and much better for the talk they're about to have than her sparsely furnished little place. And the dog was a nice touch too.

This time the suicide was _actually _a suicide and not a convoluted murder case. Open, shut, no mystery, no rewards. Chuck had collected the man's final words for his family and would deliver them herself. Ned was sorry for the victim but relieved that they wouldn't get swept up in another fast paced race-against-the-clock murder mystery, at least not yet, as he was antsy to get this big knot in his new relationship untangled so it could actually _be_ a relationship.

He sat across from Kagome on the couch, rattled with nerves and the looming sense that something big was about to take place. She seemed unbothered, which gave him at least some sense of ease that the "big thing" wasn't necessarily a bad thing.

Kagome places her hand on his knee and giggles.

"I'll go first I guess since you look ready to pass out."

Ned winces and grabs her hand, lacing their fingers, so supremely glad that he doesn't have to maintain a strict but safe distance on top of everything else.

She's _alive_ and he can touch her and she won't disappear.

"Sorry, there's just been... a lot."

"I know," Kagome smiles in understanding, and then clears her throat. "I'll try to make this fast for now. We can go into more detail later if you like, it's just a really long story. I'll just tell you the important bits necessary to clear the air. I'm a time traveling priestess and I used to use an old well on my family's shrine property to travel 500 years into the past so I could help Inuyasha, who is only part human, defeat an evil villain and save the world. My priestess powers give me the ability to sense the auras of other people. I've learned to tell when people are happy, sad, angry, lying... all by reading their auras, but most of all I can tell when someone is completely human or not and Ned, I've known you had some sort of power since one of the first times we met. There. That's about the gist of it!"

He stared at her in silence for several moments, digesting the giant bombs she'd just dropped on him without breaking a sweat. It was almost too fantastical to believe.

But he brought dead people back to life, so who was he to judge someone else's unbelievable abilities?

"I can raise the dead."

His voice is flat as his brain continues to click along, still trying to sort and process everything that had already happened today.

Kagome giggles again and he blinks and shakes his head to re-center his thoughts.

"I can raise the dead... but there are limitations."

"What kind of limitations?" The curiosity burning in her eyes gives him a jolt of confidence to continue. She must not think he's too crazy.

"If I touch them again after waking them, they die immediately, and I can only keep them alive for 60 seconds, or something or someone has to die in its place. If it's a person, another person will die, when I bring rotten fruit back, flowers and house plants die, an ant would replace a butterfly... that sort of thing."

Kagome stares off into the distance, stroking her chin and nodding, understanding him at once.

"The Law Of Equivalent Exchange. I see."

Her eyes slant toward him with suspicion.

"So that's why you're always buying all that moldy fruit. You bring it back and bake it into your pies!"

He smirks, finally allowing himself to feel a touch of relief at her good humor.

"I save a lot of money."

"I'll bet you do. Alright so, how did you learn about your power and all of these limitations?"

He sighs and readjusts on the couch.

"When I was a kid, Digby here was hit by a car. He was very dead until I touched him, and then he came back. That same night my mother died in the kitchen from a brain aneurysm. I touched her immediately to see if I could bring her back like I'd brought back Digby. She woke right up and carried on like nothing had happened.

When she tucked me in that night and kissed me, she died again. The next morning I found out Chuck's dad had died, too. She was may neighbor. After some trial and error with bugs and things I hammered out all the rules of bringing dead things back to life. I also figured out I was the reason Chuck's dad died. My mother stayed alive for over 60 seconds, so he took her place."

"I'm so sorry." Kagome smiles sadly, placing her other hand on top of their joined hands and rubbing her thumb over his knuckles. It sends a comforting warmth through him and bandages up some of those places that are still a little tender.

"So, when did you resurrect Chuck, and who had to die to keep her alive?"

Ned winces again, remembering that she knew, probably because of her priestess powers, that Chuck was most certainly not traditionally alive anymore.

"I know I shouldn't have. We were just going to investigate her murder and put her back to sleep but... she was my first kiss, my childhood sweetheart, we got caught up in this big romantic idea and then I couldn't do it, I couldn't touch her again. One of the funeral home directors died in her place. He turned out to be a thief who stole off the bodies but that doesn't excuse it and I've lived with that and have never consciously let it happen again."

She could feel his guilt and sincerity, it flared brightly in his aura. It had been the wrong thing to do, to be sure, but her own past had its own smudges and things were never so simple when supernatural abilities came into play.

She smirked at him, ready to lighten the air.

"Did you know Inuyasha also had a dead ex girlfriend that came back to life?"

Ned settled in to hear what he is certain will be the most unbelievable tale he's ever heard. But if it's Kagome, he wants to hear it and believe it all. She never lets go of his hand, and he never tries to shake free, so content in the ability to share simple touches, nearly giddy with the freedom of all his deepest secrets being in the open.

When she kisses him goodnight and falls asleep wrapped in his arms he's certain he'll wake to find it all a dream, this woman who understands him, has an even more remarkable story than his, who _knows_ him.

But it's not a dream.

It was just a gift he had to mow down in a grocery store.


	16. Chapter16

Inuyasha is tense and grouchy, his coat rumpled and suitcase dragging sleeves from his super speedy repack. His toe taps quickly on the pavement and acid churns in his stomach at Kagome's sad but resolute expression.

"No inuyasha, I'm not coming with you. I'm happy _here_. Just go ahead and go before Sesshomaru calls you back and bites your ears off through the phone. I'll let you know the minute I come back for a visit, or you can even come back again when Shippo visits next month. But I'm staying here and that's final."

He sighs, displeased but resigned.

"You're sure this guy's what you want? Creepy dead ex walking around ain't souring things for you again?"

She smiles wryly at him and crosses her arms.

"No. He _chose _me. That's... new, and awesome and... yes I'm sure."

Guilt swallows him. This girl was so special to him, and yet he continued to do wrong by her.

"Hell Kagome. I'm... so sorry. You're my best friend dammit, I don't mean to..."

She throws her arms around him, smiling brightly and brimming with happiness.

"Your my best friend too, you big idiot. I forgive you, you know that. And its more than him. I told you before that I never wanted to be a big Tokyo business woman. This place here is exactly what I was looking for. I'll be _happy_ here, not just successful. I will never be able to thank you and Sesshomaru for everything you've done for me, but it's just time for me to move on."

"Well if you need _anything_ don't hesitate to call either of us, got it wench?"

"Got it!" She hugs him again, and then he has no choice but to turn and leave, his phone already buzzing angrily with his brother's thousandth call.

He answers it with a harsh bark.

"I'm coming you bastard, stop blowing up my phone!"

He glances back to give Kagome one last wave, and then releases her to her happiness.

————-

Olive's birthday party is a sweet, friendly little affair, and Kagome is touched to be included. She shows up with a box of pink, handmade mochis, the kind with the strawberry inside, that seem to be Olive in dessert form. Ned is already there waiting for her as she'd sent him on first so she could finish her treats. She hops up to him and Emerson who rolls his eyes at their snappiness, but happiness suffuses every inch of her and she just doesn't care.

"Hello! I missed you."

He leans his tall frame over and gives her a sweet kiss, blushing and awkward and still getting used to their new reality.

"Did Inuyasha give you anymore trouble before he left?"

"No actually! He may come back to visit next month, but I think he's done trying to boss me around... for now."

Emerson cuts in before things can spiral any further and he's forced to watch these two idiots be any grosser. He was relieved they were both alive and he'd be spared the awful "can't touch no matter what" tension that came with Chuck hanging around, but that didn't mean he wanted to get stuck in the middle of a PDA circus either.

"Alright witchy, here's the deal. We're gonna let you join our little detective team _if_ you use your magic powers to help us out. We'll even split you a cut of the profits. Deal?"

Beaming, Kagome squeals and latches on to Ned's arm, bouncing like a hyper puppy.

"Well I'm not actually a witch but _yes! _That's so exciting! When do we start?"

Emerson holds up a newspaper clipping dated to that very morning, the gleam of adventure and mystery and money making his eyes shine.

"We start... now."

_A.N.; thank you all so much for following along on this little piece of fluffy self indulgence! This has been pure fun and I'm so happy some others have enjoyed reading this as much as I've enjoyed writing it. _


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